Japan is a long, narrow island country. The
remarkably high proportion of coastline, which spans 34,600km,
to total land area (380,000 sq km) has generated an extremely
large number of ports.
Approximately 42% of the entire population of Japan lives near
a harbor. Ports are the mainstay for 99% of Japan's foreign trade
and 42% of its domestic distribution.

Trade with China stimulated cultural development
in Japan, and the limited amount of space prompted a national
policy establishing foreign trade early on. The development of
ports and harbors has therefore been particularly important to
the economy, and the Japanese government plays a leading role
in maintaining the country's ports, as well as its shipping.

1.1. Pre-19th Century (Ancient times
to the Edo Period)

Japan, A Shipping Nation

Exchanges between Japan and the continent (China)
began to flourish from the 6th century. At this time, the Inland
Sea of Japan, which formed a large, natural shipping canal, was
a particularly important waterway. In the 11th century, an artificial
island (Kyoga Island) was constructed at the site of what is
now Hyogo Prefecture where trade ships from the continent could
anchor. Sakai Port in Osaka began to flourish in the 16th century
when it served as the main port of call for the Chinese and Europeans
(the Spanish and Portuguese). Japan entered the Edo Period in
the 17th century, an approximately 250-year period of official
national isolation.
Ports that had previously been opened to foreign countries now
focused on domestic distribution, and the bulk of Japan's current
port structure foundation was established during this period.
The country's commodity distribution bases were in Osaka and
Tokyo, with the "Eastern Roundabout" and the "Western
Roundabout" as the two main shipping routes. The Eastern
Roundabout ran along the Pacific Ocean, connecting Northeastern
Japan with Tokyo, while the Western Roundabout ran along the
Sea of Japan and the Inland Sea, tying Northeastern Japan with
Osaka. In the mid-19th century, international trading ports were
opened in Yokohama, Nagasaki and Hakodate, followed by Kobe and
Osaka at the end of the Edo Period and the beginning of the Meiji
Period.

1.2. 1870 to 1945 (Meiji Period to
World War II)

Industrial Promotion Policy

Japan's ports and harbors matured under the
Meiji government's policy of industrial promotion, national wealth
and military strength. Ports, harbors, railroads, roads and other
types of social infrastructure were established at this time.
The Meiji government@s policy of modernization under a centralized
government was designed to help Japan catch up with advanced
Western nations.

Yokohama and Kobe were established as major
foreign trading ports during the Meiji Period.
These ports were also key to promoting the concentration of industry
around metropolitan areas, as the coastal region was developing
into a heavy chemical industrial belt under the government's
aforesaid policy. Yokohama Port, the center of raw silk thread
distribution, and Kobe Port, an import/export base for cotton,
wool and other raw materials for the textile industry, both flourished
at the time as gateways for international distribution.

Under the government policy regarding ports
and harbors enacted in 1873, ports were deemed "government-owned
structures," which brought them under government jurisdiction.
These facilities were ranked (Class One, Two and Three), and
the government was directly responsible for the improvement of
the five major Class One ports, which were central to the country's
international trade. Class two and three ports were either under
the sole jurisdiction of local governments or managed by several
prefecture and municipal governments. At this time, however,
the Japanese constitution did not provide for autonomous local
government, and the responsibility for these ports fell to the
governor of the prefecture, who was appointed by the national
government. Local government merely served as the management
body, bearing the expenses involved in managing the ports and
harbors, while the administration of these facilities was actually
directed by the national government.

From the 1880s, fiscal restrictions forced the
new government to shift its industrial promotion policy toward
the development of industry through private capital. State management
companies were sold off to the private sector. The resulting
remarkable growth in private business was one' of the reasons
that industry was concentrated in four major industrial belts
along Japan's coastal area (Keihin, Chukyo, Hanshin and Kitakyushu).

Tool for Regional Development

This type of coastal industrialization produced
industrial complexes around areas that relied on shipping for
profits. The industrial policy in Japan therefore began to focus
on these four major industrial belts. The development and maintenance
of ports also began to reflect this emphasis on industrialization.
Adopted in 1907, the guidelines for port policies expanded the
traditional policy of developing international trading ports
to include the promotion of regional economies. The Public Waters
Reclamation Law was enacted in 1921 to develop land for the expanding
coastal industry and support the construction of ports and harbors.
The development of these lands, which had previously been entrusted
to private companies, fell to the national government and local
public entities in 1940 as the demand for industrial land in
coastal areas increased.

1.3. From 1945 (World War II to
Present)

Modern Port Management System

The Port and Harbor Law was enacted during the
postwar period, in 1950, as Japan's first basic law concerning
the construction, improvement, management, and operation of ports
and harbors. This law clearly stated that ports were to be managed
by port management bodies, and the foundation for the current
Japanese system of port management by local government entities
was established.

Beginnings of the National Port Development Plan

In the course of postwar recovery, the amount
of freight handled by Japanese ports had recovered to prewar
levels by 1953. During the 1950s, Japan experienced both a rapid
population increase and increased population density in urban
areas. Intensive efforts were made to improve the network of
ports, railroads, and highways in these metropolitan areas, particularly
in the Pacific industrial belt.
Subsequently, in the 1960s, the Japanese economy enjoyed a high
growth rate, leading to a shortage of port capacity. In 1961,
therefore, the Law on Emergency Measures for Port Development
was enacted, and the first Five-Year Port Development Plan was
devised (FY 1961-1965). Linked to the Plan to Double the People's
Income, the national economic plan, this plan stimulated the
promotion of port and harbor development.

From the Concentration of population to the Correction
of Regional Disparities:
New Industrial Cities and Special Areas for Industrial Development

A byproduct of the growth in the urban areas
and in the Pacific industrial zone was the manifestation of the
negative aspects of population concentration in regional cities.
The rapid increase of population density also led to a gradual
deterioration in the living environment. These negative effects
were particularly striking in the 1960s, and 'the government
moved in the direction of correcting regional disparities, centering
its policies on the distribution of bases for developing industrial
zones and cities. In 1962, the Law to Promote the Construction
of New Industrial Cities was enacted. Fifteen locations around
the country were designated as new industrial cities. Plants
for the production of steel and petrochemicals, as well as those
in industries strongly linked with agriculture and forestry,
such as' fertilizers and wood pulp, were constructed. Nearly
all designated zones were located in coastal regions. The following
year, 1964, the Act for the Provision of Special Areas for Industrial
Development was promulgated, and six Special Areas (regions)
for Industrial Development, corresponding to the industrial development
bases, were designated. Behind this move lay the so-called Base
Development Concept of the National Development Plan formulated
on the basis of the Plan for Doubling the People's Income, which
was drawn up during Cabinet meetings in December 1960.

Government Coordination of Infrastructure Development

In order for this regional development plan,
which included ports and harbors, to be publicly approved, adjustments
were needed 'at various levels 'of administration. In response
to requests by local governments (prefectural governors) regarding
the new development system, the central government (Economic
Planning Agency) formed a council comprising members of related
government offices, experts and other representatives to select
the sites for new industrial cities. This process involved discussions
on city planning, as well as various infrastructure development
plans, and officials from related ministries, as well as prefectural
and municipal officials, coordinated the selection process. The
new industrial city plans were not limited to industrial sites
and port plans, but also covered housing, highways and roads,
railroads, general and industrial water and sewage, and electricity.
This system of coordination was also used to put the plans into
action. The government prepared a supplemental budget to be used,
for example, when infrastructure construction projects were delayed.
The government's function was expanded in the early 1970s with
the creation of the National Land Agency. Under government restructuring
in 2001, the National Land Agency, the Ministry of the Hokkaido
Development Agency, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry
of Construction are integrated to form the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport.
As a result, highway construction currently under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Construction will be implemented in conjunction
with other aspects of transportation infrastructure administration.

Effects of New Industrial Cities Development and the Role
of Ports

In terms of promoting new industrial zones in
areas outside of existing development zones, the development
plan has succeeded in the majority of selected sites, albeit
with some regional differences. Development has not only provided
thousands of people in these areas with jobs, but it has also
helped revitalize the economies in these areas.
Ports are one of the most crucial aspects of infrastructure in
supporting the development of the new industrial zones. Regional
development plants incorporated the type and scale of the industry
to be developed in the area, as well as thoroughly designed highway
and road networks, railroads, water supplies and port facilities.
The public (national and local government) and private sector
provided investment capital for the new industrial zones. The
government, which also financed basic infrastructure facilities
such as highways, roads and industrial water supplies, subsidized
basic port infrastructure such as the construction of breakwaters
and public wharves; and the dredging of navigation channels and
anchorage. When industries required extra water depth in order
to use the facilities, however, the party that would profit from
this construction bore a certain amount of the cost.
Sites prepared by local government were sold to industries settling
at a specific location. This industry was also responsible for
the construction of port facilities attached to the land and
intended for their exclusive use. In effect, the total investment
by the public sector for a new industrial area was much smaller
compared to the amount spent by the private sector.